


the gate of time

by ggemini



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: M/M, Pokemon AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-22
Updated: 2020-12-22
Packaged: 2021-03-11 02:54:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 15,417
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28247967
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ggemini/pseuds/ggemini
Summary: as a kid, donghyuck sets multiple balls rolling. as a young adult, he has to run to catch up to them.
Relationships: Lee Donghyuck | Haechan/Lee Jeno
Comments: 22
Kudos: 36





	the gate of time

**Author's Note:**

> cursing, innuendo, sexual content (altho i was avoiding any word for dick like my life depended on it)  
> the bastard child of my deep-seated emotional attachment to the pokemon franchise and my love of two unsuspecting korean boys. the choice of pokemon was meditated but not too much, meaning they're either pokemon i was weirdly obsessed with when i was seven or pokemon i just think are neat  
> as always, donghyuck is a fucking mess and jeno's just trying to live his life  
> spent ages just listening to [this song](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3u5EYfGNrPs) while writing, guess it would fit the atmosphere at least to an extent

it all started with a big bang. as a kid, donghyuck lies in bed in the dark and wonders what came before that. a sort of egg? a super long song intro? a starter salad? or maybe an oracle spying in her crystal ball that in due time, lee jeno will be born with everyone’s heads already up his ass.

no one ever actively pits them against each other. jeno doesn’t walk around with a note saying hate me! stuck to his forehead, although sometimes donghyuck thinks he catches one from the corner of his eye. when donghyuck looks at jeno and decides this is the kid he’s going to measure himself against with the most ridiculous, self-destructive measuring tape in history, he does it all by himself. like a big boy.

it’s just that since the beginning, jeno is better. not the best, but better than donghyuck, and that’s really all that matters to donghyuck’s rabid little brain. he learns to read first, he breaks a bone first, he gets a cell phone first—he’s even born first.

(“couldn’t you have hurried up a bit, mom?” donghyuck whines once, while his mom peels an apple for him. she blinks, and ignores it.)

but what really obliterates donghyuck’s pettiness regulation gland before he ever has the chance to develop one, is that jeno gets a pokemon first. 

donghyuck trails behind him on the dirt road they both take home, watching jeno’s neat, new backpack sway ahead as he walks, humming a song. it’s the first day back from the summer holidays. the wind runs its hands along the fields, the sky cradles their disheveled heads.

jeno turns off the road, then hops up the stone steps to the front gate of his house. he wrestles the metal latch open. donghyuck shuffles to a stop at the bottom of the steps and watches as a mudbray comes out to greet him, headbutting him in a way that would’ve definitely made donghyuck cry. but jeno simply turns to donghyuck, forehead a bit red, and looks at him like he wants to say something.

donghyuck promptly loses his shit. he screams the rest of the way home straight. by the time he gets through the front door, he’s bright red down to the shoulders. 

he forgets to take his shoes off even though he knows it’s impolite, and stomps up to his room, where he turns his backpack upside down. he shakes all of the text books and loose pencils out. they lie on the floor like martyr bodies as he fills the backpack again with whatever he thinks is relevant to catching a pokemon instead, meaning: a plastic wooloo figurine, his mom’s old torch, a banana, socks, coins, sunglasses, a handful of marbles.

donghyuck sets out into the forest behind the house. he follows a path, hops over slippery rocks, and walks on until he comes to the cave he knew was there. his mom, and the grandma from next door who keeps a bit of an eye on him while his mom’s at work, have told him there’s wild pokemon here. okay, particularly mean ones, but still pokemon. same thing.

the mouth of the cave is humongous, and it swallows seven-year-old donghyuck with ease. he marches further inside, hounded by pettiness like a little houndour nipping at his heels. he clutches the torch. the spotlight swings gently, like a pendulum.

donghyuck starts waving the torch, forgetting a bit what he’s doing here. he giggles and the light flies all over the place, starting to blind him, until the edge of the circle catches on something.

donghyuck slaps his hand over the torch. his palm glows a mute red and orange, like he’s scooped up a handful of sunset. there’s a long silence, stretching until donghyuck can’t hold his breath anymore and starts to let out soft wheezes. a quiet whistle of air responds from the darkness.

eventually, donghyuck peels his hand off and the light reveals a big bat-type thing just sitting there, watching him. its big ears turn. the yellow eyes squint against the torch light.

“hello!?” donghyuck shouts. the sound bounces off the walls, tumbling away from him.

the creature lets out a pleased squeak. it swishes its tail, then cries back, clearly trying to imitate donghyuck.

“wanna be my pokemon?” donghyuck yells next.

the pokemon simply blinks at donghyuck, maybe considering how hard it’ll be to eat this loud child. donghyuck moves the torchlight along the turquoise underside of its folded wings and thinks, this is the coolest pokemon ever. jeno’s going to drop dead.

after a while, donghyuck wonders if this isn’t how you’re supposed to catch a pokemon after all. the bat still isn’t answering, so he tries, “do you want a banana?”

the pokemon watches as donghyuck shrugs off his backpack and kneels to go through it. he pulls out the banana. he hesitates, wondering how to peel it with the torch still in his hand.

“maybe we should go outside,” he suggests. the pokemon sits up.

the pokemon follows donghyuck back out of the cave, nudging him in the right direction when he’s about to take a wrong turn. donghyck starts shaking the torch again, and they both get distracted by it for a good three minutes, just tracing patterns on the wall. the pokemon burbles and snorts, the gust of air ruffling the hair on the top of donghyuck’s head.

when they make it out, donghyuck plops down on the nearest boulder. fletchlings call from the trees. he grapples with the banana for a moment, before realising he doesn’t know how to peel one anyway. the pokemon nudges his shoulder, urging him to do something.

donghyuck thinks, then says, “let’s go ask mom.”

they wander down the path back home. a sawsbuck lifts its head from a bush of berries to fix the child and the pokemon three times his size ambling past. donghyuck teaches his companion to carefully step over the knots of tree roots and crouches with it to pluck wood sorrel from the side of the path. the pokemon scrunches its nose at the bitter taste of the leaves.

donghyuck’s mom is waiting on the front porch. the moment she sees the pokemon shuffle out of the woods behind donghyuck, she reaches down to take her slipper off and throws it at the creature. the pokemon slinks behind a tree.

“mom!” donghyuck yelps, digging his heels in as his mom strides across the garden.

“where the hell were you?” she roars. she’s still wearing her work apron. “grandma choi called me at work because you weren’t here when she came to check on you. what are you doing with that thing?”

“it’s my pokemon,” donghyuck replies, wide-eyed. the pokemon shuffles in the treeline.

donghyuck’s mom groans. “what? how can you have one? you don’t even have a ball.” she turns her gaze to the pokemon still cowering behind the tree. “and a noivern, out of all the pokemon in the world? i’ve told you how wretched these things are.”

terrified, donghyuck keeps his mouth shut. his mom looks at him for a moment, then smooths a hand over his hair. she sighs, deflating, and glances down at her grass-stained sock.

“okay,” she breathes. she digs around her pockets for change. “run to the store in town and ask the lady for a couple of pokeballs. tell her your mom sent you.”

donghyuck sprints the whole way. the lady leans over the counter to peer down at him. she asks, but when donghyuck parrots his mom’s words between exhausted gasps, she simply nods and crouches behind the counter. donghyuck even gets a handful of candy for free.

on the way back, jeno’s head appears over his house’s fence and calls for donghyuck. donghyuck stops on the road. jeno’s two little sisters also peek at him, only visible from the eyes upwards.

“what are you doing?” jeno asks.

donghyuck backtracks to the bottom of the steps. the memory of the rage from just a few hours ago is still hot on his mind. “i’ve got a pokemon too,” he bellows. the candies clack against his teeth.

jeno’s sisters start babbling in excitement. their big brother keeps his eyes on donghyuck, and yells back, “what kind?”

“noi—noivern? it’s the coolest pokemon in the whole world,” donghyuck replies, chest carefully swelling with pride. “it’s big and it’s got these huuge teeth. i found it in that cave in the forest.” he waves his hands around to demonstrate just how big it is.

jeno continues simply watching donghyuck. he climbs onto the fence, so that he’s half hanging over it. “your backpack’s open,” he points out, and that’s it.

donghyuck deflates. he turns on his heel and continues on his way home, jeno and his siblings watching him go. it’s not what he wanted from jeno at all, although maybe he did forget to factor in his personality. 

the sky feels like it’s pulling back from them. there’s no winning against lee jeno, ever.

donghyuck’s mom is still in the garden, crouched near the treeline. donghyuck wades through the high grass to her. the noivern perks up when it sees him.

donghyuck’s mom takes the balls from donghyuck. she pauses to consider him. “did something happen?” she asks. she rubs a thumb over donghyuck’s eyebrow, her hand smells like butter and the buttons of a cash register.

donghyuck only mumbles something, turning his head away. she hums and turns her attention back to the pokemon. she clicks her tongue against the roof of her mouth a couple of times, but the noivern doesn’t move.

donghyuck remembers the banana. he digs it back out of his backpack and shoves it in his mom’s hands. she looks at him, hesitant. “i said he could have some babana,” donghyuck explains.

“banana, donghyuck. not babana,” donghyuck’s mom scoffs. she peels the banana and hands it back to donghyuck. when he stays hovering by her side, she gives him a soft push between the shoulderblades. “you should try bringing it to him. i don’t think he likes me much.”

so donghyuck walks up to the noivern. it takes a step backward, and he sticks the banana in its face. it takes a hesitant sniff, then pries the whole thing out of donghyuck’s hand.

“not the—” donghyuck tries, but the noivern swallows it, peel and all. it swishes its tail happily.

“can you bring him here?” donghyuck’s mom urges him, a ball ready in her hand. 

donghyuck tells the noivern to follow him, and it does, after it’s given his mom a suspicious look. all three of them crouch in the grass. the noivern appraises the ball donghyuck’s mom holds towards it, perched on her open palm. it sits black and blinks, seemingly expressing its agreement.

donghyuck’s mom presses the nub of the ball against the noivern’s muzzle. it swallows the whole pokemon, and she hands the ball to donghyuck. it vibrates in his hands once, twice, then goes still. donghyuck’s whole body tingles with happiness. his mom huffs and starts combing the grass for her slipper.

donghyuck names the noivern mug. his mom gives him a bland look when he announces it, mug echoing his shrill voice, and goes back to making curry for dinner.

mug sleeps in the attic while donghyuck’s in school and moseys around the forest during the night, chewing sorrel and making friends with the rowlet. jeno asks about it once. donghyuck takes it jeno doesn’t believe he really has a pokemon, so he pulls a tantrum and storms off. jeno scratches his head, and never asks again.

/

“hey, lee jeno!” donghyuck shouts, because he’s obnoxious like that. a bunch of the people gathered in front of the gym turn to look, or maybe they were looking at jeno already.

the lee jeno in question turns to him, looking up from his shiny new gym badge. he seems a bit taken aback, which is fair. “lee donghyuck? i didn’t know you’re also doing the challenge.”

donghyuck sticks his tongue out between his teeth. “well, i am,” he says. he could be a bit more embarrassed by the fact that he’s mainly here because of his unhealthy obsession with jeno, but he got used to that feeling a long time ago. he was actually reasonably happy with his job crouching in the fields all day, doing the muscle work for a half-senile archaeologist, until his mom came home from work bearing the news of jeno planning on participating in the gym challenge. he couldn't sit still.

jeno nods politely. “you got your first badge too, then?” he asks, snapping his badge case shut.

“of course.” donghyuck gives jeno a wide smile. it was a close call, the gym leader was a true pain in the ass. in retrospect, having more than one lazy pokemon could have helped his case. he’ll work on that. 

donghyuck doesn’t need to ask to know that jeno succeeded without even trying. probably without one goddamn hair out of place, too. jeno watches him, unaware that he’s wet dreaming about how he looks in battle with his eyes open, but that’s all fine.

“so… what’s up?” jeno finally says.

“nothing.” donghyuck keeps his smile on. “nothing, golden boy.”

jeno sighs. donghyuck ignores the ugly feeling in his chest, like the ugly feeling veteran he is.

some positive attention from jeno would be nice, but donghyuck can roll with any kind. since they graduated from high school, he’s struggled a bit to get his fix of his signature anger, frustration and yearning cocktail. for all their hometown is small and terrible, jeno’s a surprisingly hard guy to bump into. especially totally casually, in short shorts if donghyuck gets everything just perfect.

donghyuck isn’t a hundred percent sure where it turned from a good old case of inferiority complex plus fixation to a bitter, dysfunctional boner. he would place it somewhere in the vicinity of jeno finally outgrowing him, around his fifteenth birthday, although some experts (the voice inside his head in a fake moustache) estimate it to the specific day jeno wore that slightly shrunken shirt at the beginning of high school.

“sure, donghyuck,” jeno says blandly. he turns to leave. “bye, then.”

donghyuck does an exaggerated bow and jeno shakes his head before he walks off.

donghyuck’s walking to the hostel when his phone rings. mug’s come out of its ball on its own accord, spooking some kids who seem to have a normal self-preservation instinct. donghyuck picks up. “hi, mom.”

donghyuck’s mom hums. “so, how’d it go? mug behave alright?”

“i got the badge in the end, but i think i need to have a very serious talk with mug about taking battles seriously,” donghyuck answers, giving it a grave look. mug feigns ignorance.

“that’s great. i’m proud of you boys,” donghyuck’s mom says. there’s the sound of her eating a crisp, then continuing, “did you hear the news?”

“no, did something happen?” donghyuck steps into the lobby of the hostel and shoots the clerk a smile.

“mrs kim caught some shady types snooping around her field the other night. when she asked them, they said they were lost. word is, they were carrying buckets and shovels and all that stuff.” another crisp meets its crunchy end between her teeth.

donghyuck frowns. he swipes the card to his room’s door. “mr na knows, right?”

“he does, but you know how he is,” donghyuck’s mom sighs. “he’s convinced they’re after whatever you guys were digging for. you should try wrapping up your challenge thing as soon as you can, or at least come down from time to time to help out. i’m worried jaemin’s going to break his back again with how his grandpa’s working him.”

“i could pat jaemin’s butt and he’d end up in the hospital,” donghyuck snorts.

/

“mug, come on,” donghyuck complains, but all he gets is mug imitating him in-between sidestepping electric bolts. he groans. “mug? you have no problem understanding speech when someone’s making fun of me.”

the gym leader has had a very critical look in her eye since donghyuck walked in. she observes him from behind her manectric, less than impressed by his squabble with his pokemon. donghyuck preps himself in advance into thinking that no criticism she’s gearing up to hurl at him is valid, with a haircut like that.

“you little fucker, do flamethrower!” donghyuck finally snaps. mug snorts, and lifts its chin.

“you know,” the gym leader cuts in. donghyuck barely swallows down a growl, “i suggest you connect to your pokemon properly first, then come try this again. i’m honestly surprised you beat taeyong like that.”

donghyuck sucks at taking criticism, regardless of how uneven the gym leader’s fringe is. he doesn’t say anything, but he knows it shows on his face when he calls mug back into its ball and turns on his heel.

participating in a gym challenge you honestly couldn’t give less of a shit about, just to beg in every non-verbal way in the book for a guy to look at you even once is kind of super very immensely sad. donghyuck knows this, and yet, he keeps sabotaging himself.

his cheeks are so dark you’d think he was slapped. and maybe jeno does, when donghyuck almost walks into him in the entrance hall. “donghyuck, what—” he begins.

jeno’s eyes search donghyuck’s face for something. normally, donghyuck would be on the verge of becoming a puddle of human, only managing a weak fucker! but right now he isn’t in the mood for the weird, vague stuff jeno always lays on him. so he turns his head away and ducks past jeno, out of the gym.

donghyuck picks a direction and keeps following it until he’s out of the town, in a shivering stretch of forest. mug ventures out of its ball but keeps its distance, watching donghyuck from two trees away.

donghyuck thinks he could cry, if he concentrated. but instead, he throws his arms around a tree and clings on for dear life. every time he lets himself remember the gym leader’s comment, his hands clench in shame, and his nails scratch against the grooves of the bark.

donghyuck’s mom told him once that you just have to talk over yourself. until the thoughts get tired of coming back, you repeat a mantra. (“this is your time to shine, chatterbox,” she murmured. her hand passed over donghyuck’s ear, hissing like the heart of a seashell. “it goes in and it goes out.”)

cheek squished against tree bark, donghyuck repeats it. it goes in and it goes out. it goes in and it goes out. it goes in, jesus fuck, and it goes out.

donghyuck's on his twentieth round when he hears mug let out a warning grumble. he looks over to see it towering over something, chin tilted up.

donghyuck detaches himself from the tree. he walks over to mug and peeks over its wing, only to find a flaaffy staring straight ahead.

donghyuck could jab at mug about this, but he knows what it’s trying to do, so he keeps it to himself. "hi there," he says instead, sticking his face close to the little pink ball of fluff. “what are you doing in the forest, buddy?”

the flaaffy lets out a soft bleat. it’s getting a bit unsettling, how it’s fixing mug’s stomach. donghyuck turns to share a look with mug, then back. he offers his hand for the flaaffy to sniff. it takes a whiff, scrunching its nose at the stink of grease from the fries he had for lunch, but stays still.

“okay then. guess we’ll go,” donghyuck figures finally. he pivots around, mug on his heel, and starts to trek back out of the forest.

along the way, he looks over his shoulder. the flaaffy is following them, or at least bumbling in their general direction. it dawns on him, as the pokemon trips over a tree root, that it might be blind.

donghyuck turns back and walks back to the flaaffy, making sure to rustle the berry bushes on his way. he crouches down, says, “would you like me to help? just say anything if you would.”

the flaaffy bleats again. donghyuck sits back on his heels, thinking.

“i’m going to pick you up, then. is that okay?” donghyuck eventually continues, when he’s made his mind up. the flaaffy fusses.

donghyuck has to pause for half a minute to sulk when his first attempt at grabbing the flaaffy earns him a small electric shock. when he’s recovered, he tries again and succeeds in gathering the pokemon into his arms. he stands up. he joins mug where it’s waiting for him, and they continue on their way back into the town.

figuring the flaaffy’s hungry, donghyuck starts listing foods for it to pick from. he’s starting to run out of ideas when the flaaffy okays cake. a self-respecting trainer would’ve probably gone for those terrible, dry poke pellets, but donghyuck is luckily hardly self-respecting.

the owner of the town’s only cafe raises an eyebrow when donghyuck asks for two spoons. donghyuck sits a table away from the only other customer, an old lady who gives him a friendly smile. he grins back and sets the flaaffy down on his lap.

halfway through the piece of carrot cake, donghyuck has another thought. “if you want to hang out with me from now on,” he ventures, waiting for a reaction. the flaaffy baas, so he goes on, “you need a name. you don’t have one, do you?”

the flaaffy stays silent. the grandma and cafe owner both listen in on donghyuck’s tentative attempts at forging a friendship, kind creases at the corners of their eyes. he starts listing again, this time names, for the flaaffy to approve.

they settle on ben. the grandma laughs, and pats donghyuck’s shoulder on her way out.

/

after another bout of hysterics from donghyuck, mug agrees to listen to him a bit. they beat the electric type gym easily. mug is, after all, a pretty strong pokemon donghyuck honestly has no business having, but whatever. he’s only here for prime time jeno’s ass-vision.

donghyuck also manages to catch up to jeno in the challenge, mainly by the power of pure rage. he rocks up at the fighting type gym just in time to catch jeno.

jeno glances down at the bells tied around donghyuck’s ankle. the corner of his mouth twitches just a bit, narrowly depriving donghyuck of the satisfaction of making him smile. “i think everyone noticed you just fine already, donghyuck,” he remarks.

donghyuck isn’t sure what to make of that. he scoffs, “it’s for ben.”

ben perks up at the sound of its name. donghyuck wriggles his foot a bit to signal his location. jeno watches all of this, looking mildly intrigued. “you finally got another pokemon?”

“yeah, kinda,” donghyuck replies. he lets ben lean against his leg, cringing at the zap he gets. jeno gives him a concerned look. “he isn’t very good for battles, though, so in that sense i still only have mug.”

jeno hums. “that’s cool,” he says.

donghyuck blinks. he nods and makes awkward thumb motions towards the registration desk. jeno nods back. for a moment, they hover, until jeno turns to go.

conversations with jeno always leave donghyuck feeling like he’s holding his breath, waiting for someone to tell him it’s okay to let go. he isn’t getting anywhere, really, he’s just floating in the intersection between i barely know him street, but i’ve been around him my whole life street and i think i like him a bit too much boulevard.

so, is it so terrible that the first thing he blurts out at the mind-numbingly sexy gym leader is, “if i win, do i get something?”

it’s part frustration over what the fuck  _ that’s cool _ even means, and part donghyuck figuring he might as well have two irons in the fire. maybe there won’t be any more space left in him to accommodate jeno for a few minutes.

a glint appears in the corner of the gym leader’s eye. seo youngho, if donghyuck remembers correctly. "what would you like?"

"one on one lessons. close combat, maybe," donghyuck shrugs, putting on a charming smile. he doesn’t really have any proof of it ever working before, but his only other weapon is his legs and those bad boys are already out.

the gym leader laughs. "what's your name, thighs?" 

donghyuck almost squirms at the nickname. he’s thankful coming to watch gym battles live went out of fashion ten years ago. it spares both him and many others from the embarrassment of him getting checked out in front of a substantial amount of people, in the dirtiest and most exciting way possible.

“lee donghyuck,” donghyuck replies.

“okay, thighs,” youngho says anyway. his smile widens. “we’ll see about a reward after you’ve beat me.”

it isn’t very hard to beat youngho, since mug has a type advantage and all that. but donghyuck gets plenty of time to drool over the sheen of his stomach flashing under his black vest and the bandages criss crossing his chest. if this is what big town boys look like, he should’ve left his tiny one long ago. he could have had his own man titty to hold on to at night by now.

youngho walks over to give donghyuck his badge and squeezes his shoulder, purposeful. donghyuck’s reeling over just how tall he is.

“do i make my wish now?” donghyuck asks.

youngho leans back a bit. “so you weren’t just kidding,” he says, but doesn’t seem bothered by it. he has that amused smile on again.

“i don’t joke about things like this,” donghyuck declares, making a serious face.

glancing away, youngho laughs. “sure, kid. come see me again after you’ve won the league.” he lets go of donghyuck’s shoulder. “i’m rooting for you.”

/

donghyuck knows jeno’s pretending he didn’t notice him or hear the ridiculous bells around his ankle. it does hurt him a bit, but not enough to keep him from jogging up to jeno. “hi jeno,” he chirrups, all up in jeno’s face.

“donghyuck,” jeno grumbles, avoiding his eye. he glances back, to ben standing where donghyuck left him when he took off. donghyuck follows.

“ah, shit,” donghyuck yelps. he runs back to ben, scoops him up and returns to jeno, who’s resumed his trek towards the next town. he considers the set of jeno’s jaw. “what’s up?”

jeno keeps looking ahead. “nothing,” he replies.

donghyuck wonders what’s up jeno’s ass and whether he could somehow be responsible for it—oh, he wishes. did he eat something bad? did donghyuck inadvertently insult his whole family while talking about his flaaffy yesterday? donghyuck isn’t sure, and he is, for a change, smart enough not to ask.

donghyuck hums, scrolling through his mental catalogue of things he could talk to jeno about instead. he settles on, “you never keep your pokemon out of their pokeballs? don’t they get claustrophobic?”

“they would scare your flaaffy, wouldn’t they?” jeno says.

“oh,” donghyuck replies. jeno’s really trying to shut him down.

even donghyuck wouldn’t normally be this persistent about talking to jeno, but being on the road gets a bit lonely, and while unlike mug, ben at least listens, it can’t really state its opinion on donghyuck’s theory on rocket lettuce's role in the evil embedded in the human nature. as much as donghyuck is unable to simply act normal whenever within a five-metre radius of jeno, he also just wants to talk to somebody. the fact that it’s the guy he’s despaired over for an eternity is just a spicy twist to the story.

out of this need for interaction, and maybe a bit out of spite, donghyuck pushes on, “but they’re, like huge, right? wouldn’t a mudsdale—wait.”

“rocky mourns every flower he tramples, so it’s, um,” jeno begins, but shuts his mouth with a frown when donghyuck waves a hand in his face. he follows donghyuck's gaze to a lopunny sauntering through a field.

“it’s a lopunny,” donghyuck whispers.

jeno presses his lips into an unimpressed line. “yes.”

“i’ve always wanted one. do you have candy? or cookies,” donghyuck asks, adjusting ben on his hip. he sets off into the field and jeno follows. the lopunny stops to watch them.

“shouldn’t you battle a pokemon you’re trying to catch?” jeno pipes up, but swings his backpack to his front and unzips it anyway.

donghyuck huffs. “would you want to be friends with someone who started swinging at you, out of nowhere? seems counterproductive to me.” he pulls his mouth into a friendly grin and waves at the lopunny. as per the tried and tested way, he hollers, “hey, wanna be my pokemon?”

jeno lets out a startled snort behind him. the lopunny looks at them down its nose.

donghyuck reaches his free hand behind him. jeno passes him a slightly melted candy bar. donghyuck looks at it, then has to hand it back for jeno to open. the lopunny is merciful enough not to simply walk off while they fumble.

finally wielding jeno’s candy bar, donghyuck holds it out towards the pokemon. “you like chocolate?”

maybe thinking donghyuck and jeno are too stupid to do it any harm, the lopunny traipses over. it eyes ben warily, until ben sneezes into donghyuck’s shoulder, then judges it safe to pluck the candy bar out of donghyuck’s hand.

“so, what do you think?” donghyuck beams, watching the lopunny take a bite out of the bar.

the lopunny seems to shrug, like it’s saying whatever. donghyuck doesn’t have a ball on him, so they agree to get the lopunny one when they get to the town.

“that shouldn’t have worked,” jeno comments, leading the way out of the field. there’s a pool of sweat between his shoulder blades. even a gross, sweaty t-shirt seems kind of glamorous on him, donghyuck notes.

“it’s never failed,” donghyuck says, shrugging. the lopunny converses quietly with ben, although he wonders how well they actually understand each other. he cranes his neck to look over his shoulder. “say, what do you want your name to be?”

the lopunny thrills. donghyuck blinks at it.

donghyuck turns to jeno. “she said she wants to be named kate,” he announces.

jeno snorts. “she did not say that.”

“she’s definitely a kate,” donghyuck ignores jeno, following him back onto the gravel road. the lopunny doesn’t seem completely disgusted by the name.

jeno sighs.

/

donghyuck thinks about it for a long time. he makes mug sit through a complete breakdown of whether he should take the not-disaster of the trek to this town as a green light for him to ask jeno to eat with him.

“when i ask him i’ll do a super sexy pout, like,” donghyuck blabbers, pausing to make the face he’s talking about, “and then he’ll be like wow why am i only now realising i have been in love with you my whole life, i forgive you for those times you called me ugly because you panicked, let me eat tteokbokki out of your bellybutton. what do you think?”

kate makes a lamenting sound. mug swishes its tail lazily. it lets out a quiet shriek donghyuck knows, by now, means: you’re so weird sometimes. that’s fair, donghyuck thinks.

when it comes to actually asking jeno, all donghyuck manages is, “there’s a street food stand around the corner.”

jeno’s mudsdale heaves a sigh of relief when he stops assaulting it with healing spray to give donghyuck a long look. “okay,” he replies, cautious.

“have you eaten?” donghyuck asks.

jeno stares. “no.”

“you wanna?”

jeno shares a look with his pokemon, then turns back to donghyuck. “sure.”

they end up standing at the stall in the shy dusk. ben is under strict instructions not to lose contact with donghyuck’s leg, but donghyuck can tell it’s planning a great escape.

surprisingly, jeno’s the one who speaks first. he clears his throat and says, “that gym was a bit of a pain, huh?”

donghyuck’s talking mode switches on automatically. “if it was a pain for you, imagine what it was like for me. mug pretended to be k.o. just to get out of the battle. i almost went in there and killed him myself.” he gestures, demonstrating with the skewer how he would squeeze the life out of mug. jeno chuckles. “the fighting type gym was sooo much better, honestly.”

at this, jeno’s eyebrow twitches. the owner, who's obviously been considering talking to them since they showed up, sees an angle. "you boys taking part in the gym challenge?" she asks.

"we are," jeno replies politely.

the lady continues bustling around. "not all that many get as far as you two. it's nice to see new faces around here, especially kids who've beat our doyoung."

"he is very skilled," jeno hums.

"well, yes," the lady agrees. "he’s a bit scary sometimes, that boy.”

donghyuck takes a grieving bite out of a rice cake. it took two tries to beat doyoung, with a brief crying break in the bathroom in-between, although jeno’ll never have to know. but doyoung gave him a kind smile when the battle was over and told him the champion really likes talking about pork belly, for whatever reason. maybe he wasn’t such a bad guy in the end.

“if he’s scary, what are the next ones going to be?” donghyuck muses. he isn’t looking forward to finding out.

jeno glances at him and says, “you just have to be well prepared.”

“i know,” donghyuck scoffs.

“you haven’t trained a day in your life, have you?” jeno snickers, and he’s right. donghyuck’s winged this whole challenge, just like he winged all those battles over the last can of cola back in school.

“just a proof of my overflowing talent,” donghyuck retorts.

jeno rolls his eyes. “do i have to show you how to train?” he asks, almost a bit coyly.

donghyuck thinks jeno has a very odd way of phrasing things. he’s practically pointing at the remote possibility that he’s offering to train with donghyuck and saying, jump. donghyuck's excitable little heart doesn't exactly need encouragement.

donghyuck lands in the conclusion with a little stumble. “the golden boy himself would do that?”

jeno laughs and shrugs. “yeah, sure.”

/

donghyuck's phone ringing interrupts jeno's polite tirade about the importance of communication in battle. he considers ignoring it in favour of his mental list of stupid questions to ask jeno just to make him talk longer, but ultimately picks up.

"donghyuck," mr na says. "how are you?"

"fine," donghyuck replies. jeno's taken to following ben on his quest for donghyuck's bag and the snacks inside it. "and you?"

"oh, well. you know about what's been going on here." mr na pauses. "when are you coming back?"

"ah," donghyuck says. he was hoping this call wouldn't come, especially now that jeno’s actually talking to him more than three minutes at a time. it makes him stupidly happy. "jaemin isn't holding up?"

mr na clicks his tongue. "his mother thinks he can’t handle a little bit of work by himself, but those bandits are still after the crown. who knows what they’re going to use it for.”

donghyuck considers whether breaking an old man’s heart is worth it. they’ve been digging all summer—all they’ve found is rocks, with the occasional old condom, but he can’t bring himself to point out that the crown is hardly more than a legend. jaemin’s talked about his grandpa’s heyday as an archaeologist, but that time is sadly long gone.

“i don’t know,” donghyuck tries, half-hearted.

mr na casts his bait. “i’m asking you for a favour, donghyuck. i’ll pay you double, and then you can go right back to your little challenge.”

the good sides of complying are starting to outweigh the bad sides. actually, the only bad side would be serious jeno deprivation, but there’s only so much he can ignore because of an emotional hard-on. surely his temporary happiness isn’t worth that much. and if donghyuck makes his mysterious exit now, jeno’ll never have to tolerate him long enough to realise the true depth of his insufferability.

“yes, okay,” donghyuck caves in. jaemin’s spine is on the line, after all. “i’ll head back tomorrow.”

mr na grunts, pleased. “i’ll see you then.”

jeno gives donghyuck a curious look as he hangs up and pockets his phone. “something the matter?” he asks.

donghyuck wonders if this is something jeno’ll even give a rat’s ass about, but tells him anyway, “i’m going back home tomorrow.”

jeno pauses. “you’re dropping the challenge?”

donghyuck swallows. “at least for now, yeah. it’s apparently the end of the world over there. but it’s whatever, i never really…” he trails off.

“i see,” jeno says, and nothing more.

/

jaemin’s talking into a pillow. donghyuck sighs, and reaches with his foot to prod his side. “i can’t hear anything you’re saying.”

jaemin turns his head to the side. he purses his lips, nonplussed, and starts over. “i said, grandpa’s going crazy because of those pricks going around digging up everyone’s crops. my back is wrecked. mom already threatened to take away the keys of his mobility scooter but he won’t listen, and i can’t just say no to him.” his face twists to shed an imaginary tear. donghyuck chortles. “you’ve got to help me, dude.”

“why do you think i’m here?” donghyuck snorts.

jaemin wriggles a bit to keep the cool pack from slipping off his back. “i don’t know, maybe you just got bored of the challenge,” he reasons.

“oh no, jaemin. you’re overestimating me!” donghyuck jeers.

jaemin hums, unaffected, and continues, “you got way further than i thought, though. how many badges did you get?”

donghyuck grumbles, “six.”

jaemin whistles. “woah.” he turns over onto his back and says, “can i see them?”

donghyuck goes get the case from his bag and throws it to jaemin. jaemin opens it to marvel at the badges. donghyuck watches them glint, both proud that he was able to procure so many and relieved he doesn’t have to embarrass himself securing more, at least for now.

he misses jeno’s stupid face more than he’d care to admit. especially the look on his face when donghyuck almost makes him laugh.

"why did you take up the challenge, anyway?" jaemin asks, eyes still glued to the badges. donghyuck considers salvaging them from his nasty boy hands, then remembers he also has them.

"felt like it," donghyuck says, shrugging. jaemin knows about the jeno thing but, as far as he's concerned, donghyuck got over it years ago. it eases the shame in permanent residence in his stomach.

jaemin buys it. donghyuck doesn't know if he should feel hurt.

“so, i’ll see you tomorrow at eight?” jaemin asks, grinning.

donghyuck shows up at twenty past, but mr na barely notices. he gathers the tools he needs and ambles to the marked portion of the pasture. jaemin’s bent over his phone so his grandpa doesn’t catch him, leaning on his shovel.

“you’re such a hard worker, jaemin. do you ever take a break?” donghyuck jabs. he wraps his mom’s scarf around his head and ties a knot under his chin. it’s already hot so early in the morning. “just taking the top off here, then?”

jaemin puts his phone away. “i can’t remember why i wanted you to come back,” he grumbles. “but yeah, we’ll just get rid of the surface layer first. max apparently responded to this spot particularly enthusiastically.”

both of them turn to look at mr na's old, graying arkanine laying in the sun, easy to mistake for a corpse. every spot max's pointed them to before has been a dead end, days wasted on a little bone or a chocolate wrapper.

"at least we're getting paid for this," donghyuck figures. he plunges his shovel into the ground.

"true," jaemin hums, doing the same. he starts hacking off a patch of grass. "do you think the crown really exists?" he asks, almost conversationally. this is, strangely, not a discussion they've had this far, content with indulging an old man and getting paid for it.

donghyuck lifts a square of ground off to the side. "i don't know. but it would be pretty crazy if we actually found it.”

jaemin chuckles. "pretty crazy," he agrees. "i didn't really think much of it at first, but when those people showed up i started to wonder. what else could they possibly want from our backwater town?"

"maybe they also have a retired archaeologist in the family," donghyuck jokes.

jaemin snorts and shakes his head. "nah, they'd have at least some understanding of what they're doing if they did. from what i've seen, they just rip the ground open in random spots. they're going to break the crown if they ever do chance on it."

“you think they’re planning to sell it?” donghyuck asks.

“yeah,” jaemin says, pushing on his shovel with his heel. he pauses to think, then continues, “it would be amazing enough if that thing existed, let alone if it actually had any of the powers it supposedly does.”

for children of their town, the gate of the stream, the temporal crown, is just a lullaby. even donghyuck knows it, despite his mom only ever keeping to the first few verses. she’s terrible at memorising lyrics.

the lullaby, essentially: a father steals the crown from its guardian to save his daughter. he sets it upon his head and uses its power to steal time from another child to give to his own.

this is where donghyuck’s mom would break off or start from the beginning, and his knowledge of the legend ends. struggling to rip off another piece of ground, he wonders what comes next.

/

“oh hey, it’s lee jeno,” donghyuck’s mom yelps, surprised.

donghyuck sticks his head into the living room through the veranda door. jeno’s face is on the tv screen, listening attentively to a reporter hovering outside the shot. donghyuck can tell he was cornered right after the end of a battle, he’s still wearing his glasses.

“you’re one of the favourite candidates trying for the league this year. do you think you could be the one to end taeil’s long reign as champion?” the reporter asks, then sticks the mic in jeno’s face.

jeno leans back a bit, thinks for a second and replies, “taeil is a very strong trainer, but i’ll work hard to give him a good challenge.” ben shifts on the couch, recognising his voice.

donghyuck laughs out loud. it’s just like jeno to reply with something so textbook. on the screen, jeno smiles and adjusts his glasses. donghyuck almost hears a million preteens get a heart attack.

the reporter chuckles. “you’re very diligent. i’m sure you’re aware you’ve also been dubbed the heartthrob trainer. how does that feel?"

jeno laughs and ducks his head, embarrassed. "well, i'm flattered." his ears' tips are red.

donghyuck wonders if his jealousy permit covers this. the thought of someone else understanding how pretty jeno is and nabbing his heart via a super eloquent love letter (or something, his mind’s starting to heat up) makes him feel all sorts of bad.

he would’ve also at least deserved a mention as the other heartthrob trainer, or something.

the reporter wraps up the interview. the screen cuts back to the news studio, and donghyuck's mom starts flicking through channels in search of a suitably trashy reality show. off-handed, she comments, "he's grown up well."

donghyuck glances at her. "lee jeno?"

"yeah," his mom says, settling for a documentary when she fails to find a reality show. she taps her fingers against the remote. "you always had a problem with that boy."

actually, a problem with himself he projected onto jeno, but she might know that already. "i did not," he answers, leaning back out of the doorway and, hopefully, the conversation.

"maybe apologise to him sometime, though," she suggests.

donghyuck stares out just above the treeline. he's told mug to keep watch over the digging site during the night and alert him if there's any kind of action.

just like the previous nights mug's acted as guard bat, no signal climbs above the trees, and donghyuck stays sat on the patio, swinging his feet. he mulls over his mom's proposition carefully.

he traces the apology on his thigh while he imagines it: he would rub a hand through his hair and peer at jeno through his eyelashes and say something like, i’m sorry for all the mean things i’ve said to you since we were kids. i never hated you. i don’t know how you managed to be decent towards me despite all the shit i said, but that might be why i’m in love with you.

donghyuck blushes a bit as he stares at the invisible  _ love _ he’s rubber into his thigh. it’s a big word, and tastes warm and sweet in his mouth. 

thinking he’s in love with lee jeno feels a bit like stealing a pack of gum. donghyuck buzzes quietly and decides he’ll just go with sorry bro.

/

donghyuck props the sieve up on his knee and hunches over it to go through the bits. his hands are sweaty under his garden gloves. the sun’s biting into his neck.

he picks out what looks like a piece of blue glass. "found something?" jaemin asks, having decided there's nothing to be found on his end. he cranes his neck towards mr na, napping in his foldable chair. "grandpa!"

donghyuck ignores the itch in his nose, balancing the little orb on his palm. it's about the size of a pea, and feels like a little piece of him.

mr na bumbles over. donghyuck gives the orb to him and watches him hold it up to the light, a little blue spot of light quivering on his cheek.

a breeze passes through the trees. mr na hums, then whistles. max trots to him. it sniffs at the orb in his hand and reels, seeming a bit taken aback, blinking its pale eyes.

mr na measures his pokemon’s reaction and notes, “i think we have something.”

startled that they actually found something at least a bit extraordinary, donghyuck and jaemin put down the sieve while mr na goes put the orb into a ziplock. they hop into the ditch. donghyuck balances on a rock sticking out of the ground and fixes the scarf around his head.

“does your mom know the whole song?” donghyuck asks after a moment.

jaemin taps his trowel against a stone, thinking. “the gate of time?” he replies, “i guess, yeah. grandma was apparently really obsessed with keeping the tradition alive, so she made mom learn it.”

“how’s it go?” donghyuck asks. he’s been thinking about it for days. “i only know it up to the guy stealing time from the kid.”

scraping ground into a dustpan, jaemin starts going over the lullaby under his breath. “yeah, well, the guy’s taking time away from the child to give his own daughter a longer life. but then, his wife realises something’s up, steals the crown while he sleeps and destroys it. as a reward, the guardian gives her a lullaby that’ll weather time and teach her children not to tamper with the stream,” he summarises, scratching his head.

“that’s a weird reward,” donghyuck snickers.

jaemin chuckles. "true, but it is a beautiful lullaby.”

donghyuck looks up at the sky, shielding his eyes from the sun with his hand. the lullaby tells of a tall spire at the beginning of the flood of blue wrapping around the world, the crown with its nine blue eyes and the guardian, tricked too easily.

“who do you think the guardian is?” donghyuck wonders aloud. maybe a tree, or a statue, or a very, very old woman.

jaemin glances at him through the corner of his eye. “if there even is a guardian.”

“i think there could be one,” donghyuck admits, because he does.

“well, you’ve always been more into that sort of stuff,” jaemin shrugs.

/

the guardian is a weird, huge, blue thing. “lee donghyuck,” it says, regarding him with red eyes.

a lukewarm wind drags donghyuck’s hair into his eyes. he makes a poor attempt at tucking the hair behind his ears while he keeps his silence, apprehensive of this lump of stone and flesh calling his name. as you do.

“i am dialga. the ferryman of the stream of time, the guardian of its gate. you have a duty to both your ancestors and i.” dialga pauses to gauge donghyuck’s reaction, but he’s still trying to wrestle his hair out of his face. “you understand what i am getting at?”

donghyuck settles for simply pressing his palms to the sides of his head. “no, not really,” he replies. his pyjamas are fluttering around him, like birds trying to take flight and leave him behind.

for a dream this one seems very lucid, donghyuck starts to think, peering down at his toes and moving them one by one. dialga watches him, bristles and continues, “you are the chosen one, donghyuck. the temporal crown is in danger. you have to keep it safe.”

gravely disappointed when his attempt to dream up a party hat onto dialga’s head fails, donghyuck starts listening. “the chosen one?” he parrots.

“yes,” dialga sighs. “you became the chosen one when you stuck that stone up your nose.”

dialga sees donghyuck blanch, and summons up a little window into a past time. on the tips of his toes, donghyuck peers through it, at five-year-old donghyuck finding a blue orb in the creek behind grandma choi’s house and thinking it’s a great idea to try to fit it in his nose.

donghyuck watches himself start to bawl when he realises how stupid the whole idea was, something he still hasn't honestly learned out of. grandma choi rushes to him, scooping him up from the creek and carrying him into the house.

they never got it out, donghyuck knows, because there was nothing to get out. grandma choi was relieved it was nothing but a false alarm. donghyuck spent weeks waiting for some kind of monster to hatch out of the stone in his tummy, but that never came.

"not the cool origin story i would've wanted," donghyuck comments as the window closes.

dialga tilts its head. "well, no. but your duty stays the same."

"right," donghyuck says.

"i am serious, donghyuck. those children are on their way to steal the fragment you found. you must go to where it is kept and set your body between the fragment and those hoping to get their hands on it." dialga towers over donghyuck, maybe trying to inspire reverent respect in him.

donghyuck snorts, "you have a funny way of saying things."

dialga sighs again. "just go."

and donghyuck wakes up into the darkness, his hair sticking to his cheeks. the window's propped open with an old plushie. ben and kate snuffle quietly.

donghyuck scratches at his nose, fishes a hoodie out of his cupboard and goes. jaemin’s right, he’s always given the supernatural the benefit of the doubt. he could’ve gone back to sleep but instead, he tiptoes out of the house, grabs a shovel under the patio and sets off on the path towards jaemin’s house.

he considers fetching mug from the digging site, but can’t make up his mind before he’s taken the turn towards the hill, instead of the fields. he does feel a bit like the chosen one, the shovel slung over his shoulder and shadows passing him on to the next like a message as he arrives in jaemin’s yard. he watches the house sit in the middle of jaemin’s mother’s perennials.

donghyuck settles on the front steps. he barely has the time to wait before a trio of guys appears on the dirt road, each carrying a shovel or stick. they step into the garden, then stop when they spot him.

no one says a word. the guys cross the garden, the meagre early hour light unable to salvage their features from under their hoods. donghyuck’s body tightens in anticipation.

the trio halts for the last time a few metres away from him, perhaps giving him a chance to flee. lee donghyuck, unfortunately, is not equipped with the standard common sense function, and stays put, clutching his shovel. dialga was right about everything this far, maybe it’s worth listening to.

the tallest guy steps forward, lifts his stick and swings. donghyuck cries out. a light turns on in a window.

donghyuck didn’t think they’d actually hurt him, naively, but he believes it now, clutching his forearm. the guys don’t seem like they thought they would actually hit him, either. they exchange fretting looks.

“fuck,” the second tallest one says. the tallest one stands over donghyuck kneeling on the ground, hands hovering like he doesn’t know if he should help.

donghyuck knows his arm is broken. he hopes dialga knows it too, and is ashamed of its fucking self.

"sungchan," the shortest one hisses from the door. the lock has already given way, the tallest boy's the last one lingering back.

the last one is also jung sungchan, a kid donghyuck knows. a grade below him back in school. the locksmith’s son. used to hog the playground swing for hours at a time back when they were kids.

“you should’ve left the crown alone,” donghyuck hisses, already crying a bit.

“i’m so sorry,” sungchan squeaks, and jogs into the house.

///

jeno can practically still feel his come on his hand, a bit dazed as he listens to some obnoxiously dressed trainer tell him: a threat to national security, historical and powerful artefact, strong trainers needed. he’s distracted by the feeling of guilt that persists, even after he’s washed his hands what feels like a hundred times.

he had been pulling on his jeans, determined to make it to the gym before lunchtime, when he slipped up bad: he accidentally thought about rubbing his cheeks against the inside of donghyuck's thighs. it damn near killed him.

unable to get used to his feelings towards donghyuck no matter how many times he has to beat them out of himself, he gave up, left his jeans mid-thigh and flopped down on the hotel bed. he stared at the ceiling, wondering where it went so wrong.

just kidding, he knows where it really started going out of control. that is, in that wretched fighting type gym’s bleachers, where he’d innocently—not really—snuck to see what kind of trainer donghyuck was, but ended up watching donghyuck systematically go through all of his flirting tactics, even those under the subcategory: might actually work if jeno isn’t careful.

they were all maneuvers donghyuck was supposed to, and had used, on jeno—not on some douchebag with half an ab. jeno was jealous beyond comprehension. 

by the time seo youngho glanced up into the bleachers, jeno was hanging on to his last thread of sanity. youngho was getting his idiot hands all over donghyuck on the pretext of giving him his badge, a smug look on his face. needless to say, that last thread broke with a pathetic, limp sound, and left jeno hanging in his uncomfortable plastic seat like a wet piece of toilet paper in the wind. he wanted to snap youngho’s dick in half. he really did.

but he didn’t. instead, he began a nosedive he’s still caught in, in the lobby of the final gym. the lady who intercepted him on his way out goes on and on, and he inspects his hands, wishing he could forget about donghyuck.

“so, can we count on you?” the trainer asks. her blonde curls bounce around her face as she stares at jeno.

“i’m sorry?” jeno squeaks, finally looking up from his hands. 

she smiles and blinks her spooky doll eyes. “will you join the provisional patrol formed to protect the temporal crown and postpone your participation in the league until this matter is cleared?”

“the temporal crown?” jeno squeaks.

/

donghyuck's gaze switches between jeno and seo youngho, back and forth. he picks at his cast, by his thumb.

"am i dreaming?" donghyuck asks finally, breaking into a lazy smile. his eyes settle on youngho. "why are you here?"

before jeno can even try to fight through the jealousy jelly clogging up his head, youngho explains, "we're part of a patrol the champion made to locate and protect the temporal crown." his grin turns an almost lewd shade. "wouldn't want anything that pretty falling into the wrong hands, would we?"

donghyuck traces his finger along a doodle on his cast and smiles coyly. jeno considers excusing himself to go scream at the bathroom wall, but the possibility of coming back to donghyuck's tongue halfway down youngho's throat seems exponentially worse.

turning somewhat serious, thank god, youngho continues, "the patrol's leader thought we should talk to you, since you were there when the only known fragment was stolen."

"i guess that makes sense," donghyuck agrees. he tries combing his bed head with his fingers, clearly conscious of youngho's presence. "i didn't see much. i was leaving to go home from jaemin's place when those guys jumped me."

"what were you doing there that late?" youngho asks. "nothing you weren't supposed to, i hope."

donghyuck laughs. "don’t worry. we were just playing games, hanging out."

"did you get a look at the attackers' faces?"

"no, they had hoods on, and it was dark. but there were three guys. two of them were pretty tall," donghyuck recounts. when youngho only hums and leaves it at that, he sticks his tongue out between his teeth. "hey, wanna sign my cast?"

jeno hovers in the corner of the room awkwardly while youngho bends over donghyuck. he tries to ignore the whispering and snickering while the sharpie squeaks against the plaster, but it's a sad attempt. his hands prickle with discomfort.

youngho straightens up again, assessing his handiwork. he turns to jeno and says, "what do you think?"

"huh?" jeno blurts, looking up from his shoes. donghyuck lifts his arm to show him the disformed flower youngho's drawn just below his elbow. it's surprisingly innocent, with a smiley little face. "looks nice," jeno finally says, refusing to be impolite, even to the guy he wishes he could kick in the balls.

"hah, yeah." youngho claps jeno on the shoulder. "i think we should head back to report to jaehyun."

“ah,” donghyuck yelps, like he's realised something all of a sudden, “actually, could i talk to jeno for a bit?”

youngho gives jeno another one of those looks he's been giving him since he spotted jeno among the handful of people selected for the patrol. it’s a long, smug look, like he’s discovered something fun.

youngho nods, turns on his heel and leaves, leaving jeno alone with donghyuck. donghyuck’s eyes are nervous, looking at a houseplant in the corner instead of jeno. “can i trust you?” he asks, and it doesn’t seem to be a joke.

jeno blanches. “it depends.”

“of course, yeah,” donghyuck chuckles, a bit surprised. he finally looks at jeno properly, for the first time since jeno followed youngho into the room, led in by donghyuck’s mom. jeno remembers his daydream and blushes, feeling guilty. “i really need you to help me with this. but it’s going to sound a bit crazy,” donghyuck continues carefully.

“okay,” jeno replies.

donghyuck inhales. “i’ve seen dialga. the guardian of time.” his eyes widen, almost like he’s excited. “they talked to me and were all like donghyuck you’ve got to stop these assholes from getting the fragment you are the chosen one. it was like a dream i guess, and when i woke up i thought it couldn’t be real but still went. i didn’t stop them from doing jack shit and dialga did let me know when i took a nap earlier but, in my defence, at least i was there. and i know who the asshole is who broke my arm.”

jeno gapes. “um.”

“yeah, i know,” donghyuck blabbers on. “the patrol’s gonna make it a bit harder than i expected, but that’s why i asked you, i guess.”

“what do you want me to do, then?” jeno asks, trying to decide whether donghyuck’s playing a very elaborate joke on him.

“i know where the fragments are, kind of. but i can’t really dig like this,” donghyuck replies. he taps his finger against his cast, “obviously.”

“wouldn’t it be easier to just tell the rest of the patrol?”

“i don’t think they’d buy the whole dialga apparition thing,” donghyuck reasons, “and dialga specifically told me to keep my mouth shut so i’m not supposed to tell you any of this either, but it’s fine i think. they really can’t expect me to dig with a broken arm.”

“sure?” jeno agrees, like he was ever going to say no. “we’re working in shifts and i got stuck with the shittiest one because i’m the youngest, so we’re going to have to do it in the middle of the night.”

“wow,” donghyuck smiles. jeno’s heart does a pathetic little flip. “i really thought you’d say no. i mean, i would’ve told me to fuck off.”

“yeah,” jeno says, instead of: i have the saddest crush on you. he gestures towards the hallway. "i've gotta go."

"that's, yeah. bye," donghyuck answers.

jeno turns, leaves, stops in the kitchen doorway to accept prunes from donghyuck’s mom to take home, and steps out of the house. youngho’s having a stare-off with donghyuck’s lopunny. jeno ties his shoelaces on the veranda, cursing himself for his lame exit.

“you guys were from the same town then, huh?” youngho hums, still holding the eye contact. kate’s giving him the dirtiest look jeno’s seen. jeno gloats quietly.

“yeah, we’re neighbours.”

youngho chuckles and lets kate win. “how nice.”

/

donghyuck’s tracing patterns into the dirt with the tip of a shovel when jeno closes his house’s gate behind him and hops down the steps. “oh my god, it’s the heartthrob trainer,” donghyuck gushes, mocking. “can i get an autograph?”

knowing better, jeno doesn't answer. he looks around. “where to?”

donghyuck points towards the hills. “we can start over there, i guess.”

donghyuck starts walking and jeno follows, asking, “how do you know?”

donghyuck turns to grin at jeno. he taps the bridge of his nose. “i feel it in my nose.”

jeno snorts. “what?”

“you’ll try to get me diagnosed if i tell you any more,” donghyuck laughs, shaking his head.

“come on. i already agreed to help you,” jeno pushes gently.

donghyuck gives jeno a wary look. he hums and looks off, at the tops of the trees cutting into the sky. he says, “okay, then. basically, i got a fragment of the crown stuck in my nose when i was little and now i can sense the other parts, in a really weird way. it’s like an itch?” he glances at jeno through the corner of his eye. “you’re not calling my mom yet. that’s something.”

“you do sound a bit insane,” jeno admits.

donghyuck barks out a laugh. “yeah. i think so too.”

jeno follows donghyuck along the edge of mr kim’s raspberry field. the world feels like it’s in a black muzzle, breathing quietly so as to not ruffle the curls of hair at the nape of donghyuck’s neck. time ebbs away, and it somehow makes sense that the gate would be here.

donghyuck stops by a boulder. “here,” he says, holding the shovel out towards jeno. 

jeno positions the shovel a few times before donghyuck hums in approval. he pries out, carefully, a piece of ground and sets it to the side. donghyuck crouches to pick through it. jeno watches him, wondering if he’ll really find anything. it’s that or he’s actually gone crazy, or is high, or is pulling a terrifyingly elaborate prank on jeno.

“a bit deeper,” donghyuck mutters, coming up empty handed.

jeno complies. he dumps another pile of ground in front of donghyuck. donghyuck sneezes.

donghyuck picks out a tiny glass bead and a handful of stone pieces. he holds the pieces up, turns them around, presses them against his nose.

“those are part of it too?” jeno asks, accepting the fragment donghyuck holds out towards him.

“they’re definitely something,” donghyuck says. he rubs at his nose with the back of his wrist and looks at jeno weighing the fragment in his hand. “it’s a weird feeling, isn’t it?”

it feels like time is a river, and jeno’s standing waist-deep in it. the wind trickling through the forest licks at him like waves, like a breath just past the lips. the swell of donghyuck’s mouth curbs the darkness. jeno forgets if they’re even close enough for donghyuck’s exhales to reach him.

donghyuck blinks. he turns to prod at the ground with his sneaker. “yeah, yep,” he says. jeno taps the fragment against his arm, to give it back. “all clear here. can’t sense anything more to dig up.”

“cool,” jeno chokes out. he picks the shovel up and starts to fill the hole again.

donghyuck picks at the cuticle of his left thumb. jeno can almost hear the talk mode activating in his head, with a whir and a click.

“i’m hopped up on, like, three coffees right now,” donghyuck starts, and jeno’s thankful for it. he sniffs, looks around. “guess who’s the one who swung that pole at me.”

“who?” jeno grunts, patting down the small mound left where he dug.

donghyuck snorts and rolls his shoulders. “jung sungchan!” he yelps, loud in the hush of the forest. he startles, then continues, “can you believe it? he used to cry every time we had broccoli at lunch in elementary.”

“you’re kidding me,” jeno says, stunned.

“i’m really not,” donghyuck chuckles. he turns to go back the way they came, this time slowing down to walk beside jeno. “i could’ve never imagined he would break my arm.”

jeno nods. “what would he do with a fragment of the temporal crown anyway?”

“that’s it, the million dollar question.” donghyuck looks up, at the sky peering at them through the treetops, blinking its one billion bleary eyes. jeno glances at him, then away.

/

“put your scary face on, jeno,” donghyuck hisses through the corner of his mouth, advancing towards the gaggle of younger guys with long, relaxed steps.

jeno doesn't know what the hell that means, but makes a valiant effort still, furrowing his eyebrows and squaring his shoulders. his night shift is still weighing down on his eyelids, and his palms feel tender when he thinks about them.

jung sungchan looks up from the car game on his friend's phone. he seems alarmed by the cast on donghyuck's arm.

"hi, sungchan," donghyuck greets, mouth stretched into a wide smile.

"hello," sungchan replies. his friends mirror his unease, shifting in their spots.

"can i ask you a question?"

sungchan's gaze wavers. "what is it?"

"why are you doing this?" donghyuck asks, and jeno crosses his arms behind him. "i didn't reckon you had ambitions to fuck with the flow of time."

it's obvious sungchan panics. he presses his mouth into a thin line. "why should i tell you? you have no proof."

"son of a bitch," donghyuck mutters, turning on his heel to face jeno. "any ideas?"

jeno shrugs. "none."

"should we call seo youngho?” donghyuck suggests, eyes gleaming. “he’s big, i bet he could scare the shit out of these kids.”

jeno’s brain whirs into motion, trying to think of any excuse to keep youngho the hell away from donghyuck, and vice versa. “we really shouldn’t,” is all he can do, hoping against all odds that donghyuck would drop it, for once in his life.

“what? why?” donghyuck presses, predictably. “come on, call him. we’ll kill two birds with one stone.”

jeno has a horrendous idea of what the second bird looks like. but, unable to say no to donghyuck as he has been lately, he pulls out his phone and makes the call, making up a story about how they landed on sungchan in the first place.

youngho shows up half naked as always. “hey jeno,” he says, cheerful, abs twitching, “and thighs.”

“hi,” donghyuck giggles.

jeno takes a deep breath. before the challenge you didn’t even really care for donghyuck much, he tells himself. he’s mean, all up in your business whenever you give him a chance to. you got a feeling he liked you in high school, freaked out and avoided him for years. remember?

jeno’s embarrassed to be the one more invested, all of a sudden. donghyuck’s finally forgetting him and he’s late, the party’s being cleaned up. confetti all over the floor.

jeno snaps out of his thoughts. youngho’s already towering over the teenagers, donghyuck spitting out a colourful string of threats to get sungchan talking.

“fine! fine,” sungchan yelps, hunched in on himself. “it was a guy from the capital. he’s paying us to get the crown. he wouldn’t tell us his name, i only know his work’s somehow related to the league.”

“the league,” youngho repeats, frowning.

donghyuck whips around to give jeno a look. the fuck, he mouths, before turning back to youngho all starry-eyed and saying, “what now?”

youngho pinches the bridge of his nose, scrolling through contacts on his phone. “not sure, i’ll have to talk about it with jaehyun. just don’t go around spreading it.” he presses his phone to his ear and squeezes donghyuck’s shoulder. “i’ll see you.”

youngho sets off, vest fluttering in the wind. jeno imitates his stupid pompous face.

donghyuck’s already rounded back on sungchan. “why’d you do it?” he asks. jeno drops the dumb face, startled by his tone.

sungchan fidgets with a lighter. “i didn’t mean to break your arm. i’m really sorry.”

“no, not that,” donghyuck sighs. “why’d you agree to do that league prick’s dirty work? you’d think someone who grew up here would think twice.”

“for the money. everyone just wants to get out of this shithole,” sungchan mumbles. “why do you care so much? it’s only a legend, anyway.”

donghyuck grins. he glances at jeno, and the weight of a shared secret presses into jeno's stomach.

/

jeno knew he shouldn't have let donghyuck convince him to go dig up one more fragment just before his shift ended—even if the night does close in on them like it's just them in the world, even if donghyuck looks at him over the pit and sifts through the dark soil with soft fingers.

they stash the shovel among the trees and jump over the ditch, back onto the road. weeds push up from the bottom of the trench.

"only one fragment left!" donghyuck whoops. "fucking finally."

jeno snorts and shakes his head. "you didn't even do any of the work."

"i did a ton of emotional work," donghyuck argues, then pauses.

jeno looks off and whispers, "someone's coming."

jaehyun appears around the bend in the road. for a moment they stand stock still, until donghyuck grabs jeno’s hand. he fumbles with jeno's fingers for a moment, then shoots him a nervous smile. jeno hopes it means he has a plan.

jaehyun walks up to them. “jeno,” he says, surprised. he looks at their hands, and donghyuck makes a point of letting go.

“hello,” jeno splutters, genuinely embarrassed. only his muscles seem to have fully registered that donghyuck just held his hand.

jaehyun scoffs and scans the streak of soil on jeno's cheek. “you should be focusing on your task,” he chides mildly. "i actually wanted to talk to you."

"yes?" jeno squeaks.

"i talked with youngho, about the person allegedly behind all of this. we'll handle it from here but we need you to keep quiet. it'll be harder for us if the culprit knows we're looking for him." jaehyun glances at donghyuck, like he's measuring him up. donghyuck's still making a show of pretending to be embarrassed. jaehyun continues, "your job is technically done here, so after a day or two more you’re free to carry on with the challenge."

"okay, will do," jeno says.

jaehyun's dimple appears. "you should go home, i'll take over from here. try to get some sleep." he glances at donghyuck again.

jeno's helpless against the blush spreading over his face. "yes sir," he squeaks, while donghyuck shuffles back to him and presses close.

"let's go home," donghyuck murmurs, just loud enough for jaehyun to hear. he grabs jeno's hand again and pulls him away. jaehyun watches them go, an intrigued glint in his eye.

they're quiet for a long while, the rubble crackling under their feet. donghyuck's hand is a bit clammy, and feels too hot against jeno's fresh callouses.

jeno's been thinking about it for days: donghyuck sometimes talks to him low and tender, in the hush of midnight. like he still feels for jeno.

to be fair, jeno never knew for sure if donghyuck liked him in the first place, or if he was just really, really into making his life harder. it's not like they ever talked about it. jeno could’ve imagined the whole thing since high school. it feels like he did.

donghyuck glances at jeno through his lashes. “he probably thinks we’re dating now,” he jokes, letting go of jeno’s hand.

jeno’s tongue itches, but he can’t bring himself to ask. “yeah,” he breathes.

/

the last fragment is tangled in a fallen tree’s roots. jeno spends a goddamn eternity prying it out, trying to be gentle with the shovel so the noise doesn’t cover donghyuck’s version of some overplayed pop song.

finally, the last bead dislodges. jeno hands it to donghyuck, and donghyuck sneezes.

unceremoniously, they go home, and jeno doesn't say no to donghyuck asking him to help with putting the crown together. donghyuck doesn't even have to make some dumb pouty face to persuade him. jeno's become such a loser.

jeno climbs up the steps to the gate of his house and turns around to look at donghyuck.

"what?" donghyuck chuckles, hands shoved into his pockets. his eyes are a bit watery around the edges.

"nothing," jeno says. he's trying to measure the bundle of feelings in his chest but can't seem to reach the edges.

donghyuck snorts, shakes his head and turns to go. jeno sneaks into the house and to his room.

jeno falls asleep the moment he hits the bed, and doesn't wake up until mid-afternoon. his hands are still dirty. he takes a shower, then heads to donghyuck's.

donghyuck smuggles jeno in while his mom's in the laundry room. he shows jeno where the stairs' floorboards creak and jeno wonders what he fears his mom's going to say to him.

donghyuck's room's tidier than jeno expected. a shoebox sits in the middle of the floor. donghyuck plops down in front of it, and jeno follows.

donghyuck opens the box. "i washed them already," he says, turning it upside down. the fragments scatter between them. "guess we should figure out where each piece goes."

the only reference they have is a sketch donghyuck apparently made directly after he woke up, from a vision dialga showed him in his dream. not even jeno's love goggles can save it from the shitty verdict. it's a shitty sketch.

"whatever. i know what the crown's supposed to look like," donghyuck tsks, even though jeno doesn't say anything.

once the pieces are arranged in the vague form of the crown, donghyuck digs out superglue from a desk drawer. jeno gives him a suspicious look. superglue doesn't really seem like a deity-standard repair tool.

donghyuck scoffs defensively. "what? dialga said superglue's fine."

"really?" jeno asks.

"no," donghyuck admits, twisting open the cap, "but i don't have anything better."

jeno's assigned the definitely least fun task of holding the pieces together while the glue dries. donghyuck's tongue sticks out through the corner of his mouth and his fringe almost brushes jeno's while he slathers glue on the fragments. the smell of the glue is acrid.

donghyuck's room feels a bit like a deep-sea trench, weighing heavy under the pressure of time clanging against the gate. the taillows have stopped chattering outside the window. jeno's hands have been cramping for five minutes now, or ten.

donghyuck accidentally applies glue on his finger instead of the piece when he glances at the callouses on jeno's palms. he sighs. "thank you." he peers up at jeno, weirdly jittery. "for doing all the digging for me. and for believing me."

"oh, no, i love charity work," jeno says.

donghyuck lifts his head to look jeno in the eye. he laughs. "right, of course. you're a saint, lee jeno. they'll keep your fingers in a wooden box after you die."

jeno scrunches his nose. "hopefully not."

they look at each other for a moment. donghyuck's gaze switches between jeno's eyes over and over again.

donghyuck leans forward. jeno isn't sure whether it's the crown in his lap or if donghyuck's just making him suffer until the very end but time seems to go still. the space between their mouths struggles for its life, quivering between inhales and exhales.

donghyuck pauses to give jeno a wary look. his eyelashes tremble. right when he takes the plunge, his mom screams from downstairs. "donghyuck!"

donghyuck knocks his nose into jeno's. they both groan and fall back.

"donghyuck?"

"what, mom?" donghyuck yells, lying on his back, clutching his nose.

"come down," his mom hollers. "food's ready."

donghyuck sighs. he moves his hand to cover his whole face, inhaling sharply against his palm. he looks deflated, spread out on the rug.

jeno leans back on his hands. his nose throbs and his head spins. donghyuck just almost kissed him.

donghyuck's mom calls again. he drops his hand. "you hungry?" he asks, lifting his head to peer at jeno.

jeno can only nod, afraid that he'll open his mouth and all of his feelings will come pouring out, scaring donghyuck off. he gets up and follows donghyuck out of his room, down the stairs to the kitchen.

"oh, i thought it was jaemin upstairs with you," donghyuck's mom says, startled. "how are you, jeno?"

"good. i'm going to go back to resume my challenge tomorrow," jeno replies. donghyuck drops his spoon while trying to pick it up.

donghyuck's mom sets down the last of the side dishes. "oh, really? that's very good." she sits down. "i didn't know you two were close."

jeno glances at donghyuck, but he's hyperfocusing on his plate. "well, we've hung out a bit. because of the challenge, and so on."

donghyuck's mom nods. she says, "i see. it's nice to see you two getting along."

donghyuck coughs a bit. jeno struggles to keep up with the pace at which he's stuffing food into his mouth, but manages to finish two spoonfuls after him. they both scramble up to go back upstairs. donghyuck's mom looks only mildly curious.

donghyuck crouches down and picks up the last few detached fragments. he turns them around in his hands and says, “i didn’t know you were going back tomorrow.”

jeno sits down. “sorry. it’s just that we found all the pieces, and i can’t keep postponing this forever.”

“no, it’s your life. your fans await,” donghyuck chuckles.

jeno isn't sure how to operate right after being cockblocked by donghyuck's mom. just grabbing donghyuck and mushing their faces together doesn't feel like a very appropriate idea.

"what about you?" jeno asks.

donghyuck's mouth twists awkwardly. he fiddles with the pieces in his hands, tracing the jagged edges with his thumb. jeno wonders why he isn't picking up where he left off.

"i don't really give a shit about the challenge," he mumbles.

jeno blinks. "what?"

donghyuck blinks back. "no."

donghyuck picks up the glue, twists the cap open and resumes sticking the fragments to the crown. the idea of just grabbing him becomes more necessary in jeno's head with every passing second. but every time he gets to the end of a thought loop, making the first move seems a bit harder.

"apparently i just have to go sleep with this thing on my head," donghyuck starts, obviously trying to navigate around the awkwardness, "and get it to dialga through my dreams. or something."

"isn't that going to hurt?" jeno asks. he thinks he really should reach his hand out. his chest feels like it's collapsing in on itself.

donghyuck snorts. "yeah, probably. my whole head'll be bruised."

jeno's missed the right timing by a long, long shot. he simply hums and holds the pieces together while the glue dries and goes home when it's all done. he can't make sense of any of it.

/

jeno sits at the bus stop. he traces circles into the gravel with the tip of his sneaker. the bus sign is bent and washed out.

there's been no word from donghyuck. jeno hasn't texted him first, confused and afraid of getting more hurt. donghyuck would only lash out at him, he thinks.

a pair of untied shoes stop in front of jeno. he knows from the weight of the shadow on his knee that it's donghyuck.

"hey, jeno," donghyuck says softly. he shuffles a bit on his feet. "can i talk to you?"

jeno looks at his hands. "yeah."

"i'm sorry about yesterday. for almost kissing you, but also for not explaining myself at all. i like you. i really like you, and i felt like such a fucking moron when i almost broke your nose because how the hell does that even happen, and then i panicked when i realised i couldn't back out of it anymore." donghyuck picks at his cast. "i'm sorry for always being such an ass to you, like, since we were kids. you never did anything to deserve that, i was just trying to compensate for other things. i don't know how to thank you for still going out of your way to help me."

jeno waits for donghyuck to finish, then says, "i like you too."

donghyuck turns his eyes to jeno. "really?"

"yeah, really. and i forgive you," jeno replies.

there's a moment of silence, their confessions lolling between them like a little moon. jeno thinks his chest is finally ready to burst and ooze something warm and gross.

donghyuck takes a step forward, then leans down. he brushes jeno’s fringe away from his eyes and presses a kiss square on his mouth. jeno’s gut promptly lights on fire.

donghyuck straightens back up with a wide grin. "wanna go to my place? or is the bus…?" he asks, glancing towards the end of the road.

jeno picks up his backpack. "no, we can go."

they giggle the whole way. donghyuck play fights jeno over which way they hold hands and jeno lets him.

“yeah, the crown is gone,” donghyuck starts once he’s closed his room’s door behind him. “it took me an hour to fall asleep with that thing on my head, and i wasn’t sure if padding it with a pillow would’ve hindered the hand-off, or made my pillow disappear too. how would i explain that to mom?”

jeno laughs, grabbing donghyuck by the belt loops. “you talk so much, donghyuck.”

jeno mistakenly thinks he can stay cool about kissing donghyuck, but donghyuck cradles his face and rubs a thumb over his cheek, and jeno's gone. his very acute, untreated lee donghyuck-itis acts up.

"can i blow you?" jeno mumbles against donghyuck's mouth.

donghyuck almost bites both their tongues. he barks out a tense laugh. "oh my god, golden boy. you would do that for me?" he replies.

jeno makes an unimpressed face. "we don't have to, if you're nervous."

donghyuck splutters. "no, please. please blow me, jeno."

donghyuck lies down on the bed. he unbuttons his jeans, then lifts his hips to help jeno pull them off. his thighs have the tackiest tan lines, and they rock jeno's entire world.

jeno leans forward to place an open-mouthed kiss on the inside of donghyuck's thigh. he grazes his teeth over the moles sprinkled across the soft skin, until he gets to his hip. donghyuck swallows down whimpers.

knee slung over jeno's shoulder, donghyuck watches jeno give him a few experimental pumps. jeno considers it for a moment, then licks a stripe right up the underside, tongue flat.

jeno looks up to assess the damage he's caused (substantial) and spots the flower on donghyuck's cast. he leans back on his heels. he thinks for a moment. "do you have a sharpie?"

"what?" donghyuck chokes out, dropping his arm. he blinks rapidly. "yeah."

jeno gets up. he strides to donghyuck's desk and starts looking through the pen holder.

donghyuck squirms on the bed. he runs his hand through his hair, disbelieving. "ah, jeno. no. please."

jeno continues, despite donghyuck's whining. he won't be able to truly appreciate donghyuck in his throat with seo youngho's doodle there, watching him with its evil little eyes. "do you know where it could be?" he asks.

donghyuck's given up. "first drawer on the left, probably." he looks up at the ceiling. "is this revenge for cutting in front of you in line in second grade?"

jeno finally finds a sharpie. shrugging, he strides back to the bed, and leans over donghyuck. "oh yeah, that. now it is," he chuckles. he strikes over the flower.

donghyuck turns his cast. "what the hell?"

jeno grins and settles back down between donghyuck's knees. "okay," he hums, "problem solved."

/

"sucks that we'll have to be apart for a while," donghyuck mumbles against the back of jeno's neck. they're cuddled up in donghyuck's tiny bed, his flaaffy sleeping at their feet.

"i could stay," jeno says. moonlight falls into the room like from a spilled glass, dripping from donghyuck's cheek to his neck.

donghyuck's snort tickles. "nope," he says. "you've always wanted to take part in the challenge. why would you quit now?"

jeno shifts. "i don't know."

"don't," donghyuck continues, just barely kissing jeno's neck. "then, when you beat the champion, i'll brag about it to every single person in this town, and the next town over."

"please don't do that," jeno laughs.

jeno can feel donghyuck grin. "fine."

they stop talking, and donghyuck’s arm relaxes over jeno’s waist. jeno’s taken over by the warmest shade of slumber he’s ever had, the rustles of leaves outside donghyuck’s window fading into a soft exhale. something’s released, the world isn’t holding its breath anymore.

“who is this, donghyuck?” a humongous pokemon booms, without opening its mouth. its red eyes drill into the very fabric of jeno’s soul.

jeno finds himself on a windy stone plain, donghyuck’s hand in his. donghyuck also notices their joined hands, and shares a look with him.

“oh, what the fuck?” donghyuck says.

jeno has a faint idea of what’s happening here, from all the times donghyuck mentioned dialga during their endless treks through the forest. he didn’t expect it to be so damn windy, though.

“no matter,” dialga continues. "a problem has come up."

donghyuck shifts. "oh, yeah?"

"it seems there is still one fragment of the crown that is unaccounted for." dialga shakes its head. "there is not so much damage that can be done with a single bead, but i would like you to get it back nonetheless."

donghyuck scrunches his nose. "one more bead?"

"the one that got stolen, no?" jeno supplies quietly.

"oh," donghyuck says.

///

it's very, very hard to keep their hands to themselves. "i have to start training," jeno says.

“we’re discussing strategy,” donghyuck argues. he peppers kisses all over jeno’s face. nose and cheeks and forehead and jaw. jeno only makes a very lazy attempt at stopping him.

jeno snorts. “yeah, except i started my sentence about jaehyun telling me they suspect one of the elite four—mmh.” he breaks off when donghyuck gets to his mouth. once donghyuck moves on, he continues, “ten minutes ago.”

"okay, fine." donghyuck pulls back. he squishes jeno's cheeks instead. "any ideas on how we'll get to the culprit?"

jeno swats donghyuck's hands away and says, "i don't know, guess we'll have to use your weird nose thing."

"cool. i just have to get close enough to them, then," donghyuck hums.

jeno smiles and pats donghyuck's cheek. "you get it, baby. i'm gonna go train now, for real."

donghyuck's propelled so far into outer space by the nickname that he forgets to complain. he watches jeno jog over to his pokemon that have been pointedly pretending to be unaware of them sucking face on the other side of the training room. although, his milotic might've actually not known.

donghyuck's still having a hard time believing that jeno actually likes him back. back in his room, over the pieces of the temporal crown, it would be a lie to say jeno didn't have the time to move away. but he let donghyuck inch closer—and then almost break his nose, but whatever. he held still, as if to not scare donghyuck away. handling him with the care of someone donghyuck thinks is really worth falling in love with.

the stillness of jeno's chest right there was what got donghyuck to run to the bus stop the next day, back sweaty and blood hammering in his ears. he owes jeno a lot of things, he thinks.

jeno turns to look at donghyuck and smiles. his mudbray seems to sigh.

donghyuck shoots him a handful of grossly overdone hearts. he really does love lee jeno and his slightly too toothy blowjobs.

/

right before the doorknob rattles, donghyuck narrowly misses sneezing in jeno's face. they've locked themselves in the league building's bathroom to make out, despite jeno's objections. someone knocks on the door.

"i told you," jeno hisses.

donghyuck stares at the door, rubbing at his nose, then turns to jeno. he whispers, "the fragment."

donghyuck bolts to the door. "what?" jeno yelps, watching him twist the lock and throw the door open.

the youngest elite four member gives him a very long, very strange look. he leans to the right to give jeno a similar look. "i hope i'm not interrupting anything."

"no!" donghyuck exclaims. he clears his throat and steps away from the doorway. "not at all. my friend just had a slight emergency. all taken care of now."

the kid steps into the bathroom. he makes for one of the stalls but turns around sharply when donghyuck locks the door once again. "what is this?"

"what the fuck are you doing?" jeno scowls.

donghyuck crowds the kid. "hand over the bead."

"you're badgering some eleven-year-old now? jeno snorts.

"a criminal eleven-year-old," donghyuck corrects. he sticks his face in the kid's. "give."

"i don't have a bead. i don't know what you're talking about," the kid says, disturbingly composed despite the circumstances. he has a blank look in his eyes.

donghyuck barks out a laugh. "i know you do." he rubs at his nose with the back of his hand.

"i don't know, donghyuck. sungchan said it was an older guy," jeno notes.

"that was my uncle," the kid says.

"ha!" donghyuck hollers. "my radar doesn't lie."

donghyuck finds the bead in the kid's pocket. the kid clenches and unclenches his fists, otherwise showing no sign of being affected.

"you'll hear from me," the kid says quietly, then turns on his heel and walks out.

jeno and donghyuck watch him go. "should we stop him?" jeno asks.

"dunno. why was there even a child in the elite four? creeps me out," donghyuck grumbles.

jeno shrugs. "yeah, beats me. what do you wanna have for dinner?"

/

jeno fiddles with the seam of his jeans. donghyuck sits next to him and takes him by the hand.

"how are we feeling?" donghyuck asks quietly, ducking his head close to jeno's.

jeno sighs. "i think i'm going to puke."

donghyuck traces patterns over jeno's knuckles. "i don't know anyone more talented—or anyone my mom would want more as a son-in-law than you."

"well, she's in luck," jeno laughs.

donghyuck chuckles. "she really is." he kisses jeno's cheek. "you're going to do so good."

jeno and donghyuck sit for a moment longer, and the league staff guarding the challengers' entrance gives them a curious look. they did find each other, in the end.

**Author's Note:**

> the kid was never seen again  
> i'm just waiting for a pkmn game with an actual adult as main character with life control issues and some lovesim side quests like damn. anyways thx for reading  
> [twt](https://twitter.com/yeshyuck?s=09)  
> [cc](https://curiouscat.me/jeyes)


End file.
